Racing Santander sporting director Chema Aragon has revealed that Pablo Garcia was close to moving to Arsenal before his club swooped in for the player.
The Gunners were looking for new attacking players in the final weeks of the transfer window with Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard leaving, while Gabriel Martinelli is set to join Al-Hilal.
Christos Tzolis ended up being their only attacking addition of the summer with the Greece international signing in a deal worth £34m from Club Brugge.
Gary Neville has already suggested that Tzolis should be replaced for their next match against Chelsea after Arsenal attacker Eberechi Eze played well when he came off the bench in a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Arsenal were trying for attackers in the final week of the transfer window with the Gunners reportedly making an approach for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez after realising they weren’t going to sign Julian Alvarez.
While Racing Santander sporting director Aragon has revealed that Arsenal were on the verge of signing young Spanish winger Garcia from Real Betis before “things changed”.
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Aragon said at a press conference on Wednesday: “It seemed like it was done with Arsenal, and then we came in too on loan.
“Yesterday things changed, and what seemed to be a loan turned into a shared ownership deal.
“I would describe Pablo Garcia as Raul Gonzalez Blanco, what he has above all else is a nose for goal, that killer instinct, and he usually puts it away.
“My biggest concern was losing that goal-scoring ability for a while after Andres Martin’s injury. When the real opportunity arose to sign that player (Garcia), we didn’t hesitate for a second.”
Garcia: ‘Betis has been my home since I was a child’
The Spain Under-21 international left Betis’ training ground in tears earlier this week after the La Liga accepted a £4.3m bid for his services from Racing Santander.
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And in an emotional letter to Betis fans, Garcia wrote: ‘I arrived at Betis when I was five years old. I’m leaving after almost fourteen years growing up with these thirteen stripes.
‘Here I learned to play, to compete, to lose, to win and to dream. I went through all the categories of the Betis youth academy until fulfilling the dream of debuting with the first team.
‘I experienced special goals and moments that will always stay with me. Betis has been my home since I was a child. And now, although it’s time to move on, there’s something that doesn’t change.
‘I arrived as a Betis fan and I’m leaving as a footballer.’
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